In the use of a household automatic dishwasher, it is desirable to alter the configuration of the dish rack to more efficiently accommodate varying types of loads. Where there are many short, relatively small items, a greater number of the items could be effectively positioned in the dishwasher if a plurality of racks were available in the dishwasher. The next load desired to be cleaned might, however, comprise a plurality of tall items which could not be placed generally upright between the abovementioned plurality of racks owing to the space limitations between the plurality of racks.
Dishwashers have been constructed having a plurality of base racks that are separable from the dishwasher and movable to various elevations in the dishwasher for solving the above-described problems. An example of such a dishwasher is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,760-Nicholas.
However, this approach to solving the problem utilized additional rack-holding elements. Further, some racks when not in use were sometimes required to be removed from the dishwasher to accommodate tall items. This removed dish rack then generated a storage problem, and racks when stored were sometimes damaged.
In accordance with the apparatus of this invention, the above-described disadvantages are alleviated with the advantage of having a unitary assembly that generally remains within the dishwasher.